TDIFest 2018 planning discussion

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
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Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Make that four (waiting for PeterV to speak for himself).

Should I bring the tow dolly so the Telsa with it's lesser range can be recovered?:p
Just bring a tow strap so we can recharge the battery using your biodiesel. :D
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
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Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Either that, or plot the "supercharger" stations along the route... :rolleyes:
Route planning is one of my favorite parts of a road trip. I'd like to head south down I-81 to Knoxville, then either cut down US-441 through the Smoky Mountains with an overnight stop, head south through Atlanta and down to New Orleans with another overnight stop, then on across I-10 and up to Austin.

That'll knock out three of my five missing states and take us through some awesome parts of the country that I haven't seen before. With the Model 3's range, we should be able to hit two Superchargers for about 30 minutes each day, and charge overnight at hotels. Trip legs would be 485 miles for day one, 679 miles for day two, and 515 miles for day three.

On the trip home, we'll probably take the more direct route through Dallas, Memphis, and Nashville, with a side detour for Tail of the Dragon. :cool:
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Have you taken delivery of the Tesla?
No, not yet. We haven't even configured it yet... we expect to do that sometime next month. Delivery estimator shows an estimated delivery window between December and February.
 

john.jackson9213

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Location
Miramar, Ca. (Think Top Gun)
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1996 B4V
Austin would be a no brainer for us. Anita's brother is in San Antonio. Austin is much nicer! I-8 to I-10. At San Antonio, turn north on I-35. Route home would be I-40 thru Santa Fe and Flagstaff, the back to San Diego
 

mslaptoptx

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Location
Austin, TX - Brushy Creek
TDI
03 Jetta ALH, 01 ALH Golf 2 Door
If you get serious about Austin for the '18 TDI Fest I'd be glad to help organize, scout or whatever. I'm retired and have lots of free time. Also my wife is a "wine nut" so we're very familiar with the wine country west of us. Also maybe we could get COA to let us play on the track
Tony give me a shout and maybe we can get some traction on this. Wow a TDI Fest that's a 15 minute drive!
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
If you get serious about Austin for the '18 TDI Fest I'd be glad to help organize, scout or whatever. I'm retired and have lots of free time. Also my wife is a "wine nut" so we're very familiar with the wine country west of us. Also maybe we could get COA to let us play on the track
Tony give me a shout and maybe we can get some traction on this. Wow a TDI Fest that's a 15 minute drive!
Mike: PM me your phone number and Ill give you a call to chat about this over the next day or so. Let me know what is the best time to call you.

Tony
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
If you get serious about Austin for the '18 TDI Fest I'd be glad to help organize, scout or whatever. I'm retired and have lots of free time. Also my wife is a "wine nut" so we're very familiar with the wine country west of us. Also maybe we could get COA to let us play on the track
Tony give me a shout and maybe we can get some traction on this. Wow a TDI Fest that's a 15 minute drive!
It might be fun to combine some wine country activities into the Fest - perhaps a driving tour with a stop at a winery (or a few). The 2011 TDIFest in Lexington, KY offered distillery tours and tastings that were very popular.
 

aja8888

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Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
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Out of TDI's
Mike never PM'd me. Maybe he will post back on the site in a month or two. Never heard from the other Texan that seemed like he was interested in helping. Looks like forming a local team will be a challenge here.
 
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VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
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‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Mike never PM'd me. Maybe he will post back on the site in a month or two. Never heard from the other Texan that seemed like he was interested in helping. Looks like forming a local team will be a challenge here.
Putting a team together can be a bit of a challenge. Don't get discouraged... it takes time.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
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Location
Springfield, VA
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‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
If hadn't been for Lawson and Jason and a few others we may not have seen any Fest the last 5-6 years....:(
I have to give a shout out to GeekDrew, Sprocket and Sprockette, Hamsterdiesel and PeterV, MonsterDog and MonsterTDI09 and everyone else who volunteered countless hours of their hard-earned vacation time to help out with several TDIFests in recent years.
 

aja8888

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Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Putting a team together can be a bit of a challenge. Don't get discouraged... it takes time.
Lawson: could you provide me with a past proposal document as an example?

Also,

How many people would constitute a "team" and what would basic tasks be besides finding a place to have the event?

I could see the following:

1. Line up a meeting place: room costs, use of meeting room(s) and other facilities, other fees.

2. Invite vendors/get conformations, etc.

3. Scout out potential offsite activities,

4. Round up volunteers for the event to help with silent auction, TDI club sales, etc, etc.

5. Forum duties (manage thread on attendee list, field and answer qustions, etc)

6. Line up food caterer if necessary,

7. Manage Tomo's expectations to the fullest.:D

8. More?
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Lawson: could you provide me with a past proposal document as an example?
Also,
How many people would constitute a "team" and what would basic tasks be besides finding a place to have the event?
I could see the following:
1. Line up a meeting place: room costs, use of meeting room(s) and other facilities, other fees.
2. Invite vendors/get conformations, etc.
3. Scout out potential offsite activities,
4. Round up volunteers for the event to help with silent auction, TDI club sales, etc, etc.
5. Forum duties (manage thread on attendee list, field and answer qustions, etc)
6. Line up food caterer if necessary,
7. Manage Tomo's expectations to the fullest.:D
8. More?
Hey Tony,

Your list covers a lot of what's involved, most importantly, item #7. :D

Other duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • receiving and managing donated items (stuff for the auctions and raffle)
  • handling registration and meal purchases
  • maintaining a budget
  • ordering and receiving t-shirts and other swag
  • managing publicity for the event

A team should probably consist of three to six core people who will be regularly involved in the planning of the event. Bi-weekly conference calls with the TDIFest steering committee (Fred and others, maybe myself) will help keep things on track and answer any questions you have during the planning process. We have a number of systems set up to assist you and the core group with communication and document organization. These systems include the public TDIFest forum, a private TDIFest planning forum (that goes back many years, allowing you to search historical information), an online chat room, Google Docs, and of course, good old fashioned email. Think of it like a never-ending group project in college. ;)

At the event itself, you'll want a volunteer force of about 20 people. You'll find that many attendees are eager to help out, but it will take a good volunteer coordinator to organize and assign duties and keep people on track.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
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Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
LOL ......Whatever.....My Wife drives my Jetta now, I drive the 328D.
chances are I am done with it anyway....Believe me when I say this I am irrelevant here.....
C'mon, Tom, if Tony can pull a crew together and make an Austin TDI Fest happen, you'll be there. Lunch will be on me at Franklin BBQ...
 

Lightflyer1

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Location
Round Rock, Texas
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2015 Beetle tdi dsg
C'mon, Tom, if Tony can pull a crew together and make an Austin TDI Fest happen, you'll be there. Lunch will be on me at Franklin BBQ...
Franklin BBQ burned down. Maybe they will be back in time. The crowds were so big there you usually can't get in.

What has been the average attendance at these fests? How many people and how many cars? Finding somewhere with adequate parking will be the challenge. Not much Austin downtown that can handle something like that. Dell Diamond in East Round Rock might be a spot. Large parking if nothing going on there. Salt lick BBQ right there. A 645 acre park behind it with multiple activities available. RV park right there. Hotels available in Round Rock. Historical downtown and other sites near (the old Chisolm trail round rock marker, Sam Bass grave, etc). May be able to get an area in the park set aside as well. Austin not too far if some want to venture down there for music and libations.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Franklin BBQ burned down. Maybe they will be back in time. The crowds were so big there you usually can't get in.
What has been the average attendance at these fests? How many people and how many cars? Finding somewhere with adequate parking will be the challenge. Not much Austin downtown that can handle something like that. Dell Diamond in East Round Rock might be a spot. Large parking if nothing going on there. Salt lick BBQ right there. A 645 acre park behind it with multiple activities available. RV park right there. Hotels available in Round Rock. Historical downtown and other sites near (the old Chisolm trail round rock marker, Sam Bass grave, etc). May be able to get an area in the park set aside as well. Austin not too far if some want to venture down there for music and libations.
The numbers in recent years have been getting smaller and Dieselgate certainly isn't going to do the event any favors when it comes to attendance. During the peak of TDIFests, attendance was around 310 people. In recent years, that number has been closer to 100 - 150 people.
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Franklin BBQ burned down. Maybe they will be back in time. The crowds were so big there you usually can't get in.
What has been the average attendance at these fests? How many people and how many cars? Finding somewhere with adequate parking will be the challenge. Not much Austin downtown that can handle something like that. Dell Diamond in East Round Rock might be a spot. Large parking if nothing going on there. Salt lick BBQ right there. A 645 acre park behind it with multiple activities available. RV park right there. Hotels available in Round Rock. Historical downtown and other sites near (the old Chisolm trail round rock marker, Sam Bass grave, etc). May be able to get an area in the park set aside as well. Austin not too far if some want to venture down there for music and libations.
It sounds like you have not been to any Fests. Take a look at the 2016 Fest pictures and thread in the Forum. That will be very helpful for you to get an idea of what has worked in the past. The Fest is usually held at a resort type facility that can host about 100 or more guests. The place we were at in 2016 in Door County, WI was about perfect for this kind of low key event.

There are many similar facilities between San Antonio and Austin (Hill Country) that can handle group meetings and have room/dining/parking/ etc. Our job will be to find one that has all the capabilities of lodging, conference room, dining, internet, parking and be relatively inexpensive.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
Fear not, second best is here too.
Well, it IS Texas after all, isn't it? :D

Edit: We actually have a great BBQ joint right here in Baltimore. Run by 1958-59 World Champion Baltimore Colts' safety Andy Nelson. 'Bama style.
 
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aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Embassy Suites in San Marcos Seems to have everything needed.

http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en...-conference-center-and-spa-SNMESES/index.html

Large parking lot, free breakfast, meeting conference rooms. Price a little high but with a group discount may come down some.
In my short experience, what has been done at Fest locations may be a bit outside of what a major hotel chain may allow. For instance, vendors who attend usually set up tents and keep them up for the duration of the event. Also, that Embassy Suite shows daily parking fees and that would be a problem with all the cars and getting a spot for the judging of the various car entries. I'm not saying it can't be done at a large hotel, but a smaller, boutique place may give us more flexibility with events, breakout technical sessions, the silent auction, etc. A lot of the Fest activities are actually conducted outdoors, weather permitting, of course.

Just internet scanning the small resort places between San Antonio and Austin, I saw about two dozen smaller ranch type facilities that have accommodations for large groups. When Mike gets back from his trip later next week, maybe the three of us could meet somewhere (around Austin) and discuss possibilities? I'm OK driving up to meet you two anytime.
 
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